* Defensemen led the charge for the Capitals and Sabres, who erupted for eight goals apiece. Washington has scored at least seven goals on four occasions in 2024-25, tied with Tampa Bay for the most among all clubs.
* American stars found their way back onto the score sheet in their return from being teammates at the 4 Nations Face-Off as Kyle Connor and Auston Matthews each had a hand in helping the Jets and Maple Leafs skate to wins. Winnipeg earned its ninth straight victory to establish the longest run in franchise history and maintain top spot in the NHL standings.
* The 4 Nations Face-Off was bookended with two of the three highest-scoring Saturdays of the season as NHL clubs returned to action and continued their push to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
* The NHL announced that Los Angeles will play host to the 2025 Upper Deck NHL Draft at L.A. Live’s Peacock Theater from June 27-28, 2025.
* A busy 10-game Sunday features NHL on TNT celebrating Hockey Day in America, while the Kings, in partnership with the NHL, host Skate For LA Strong, “A Celebration to Support the Fire Recovery Efforts in Los Angeles.” That game is set to feature a star-studded cast that will include the likes of Justin Bieber, Steve Carell, Snoop Dogg, Will Ferrell and Vince Vaughn.
CAPITALS, SABRES COME OUT OF THE BREAK WITH EIGHT-GOAL ERUPTIONS
A pair of defensemen guided the Capitals and Sabres to eight-goal eruptions Saturday as Jakob Chychrun (2-0—2) helped Washington extend its point streak to seven games while Rasmus Dahlin (2-1—3) helped Buffalo earn its fifth win in the past six outings after representing Sweden at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
* Chychrun, who netted his 15th and 16th goals of 2024-25, became the fifth blueliner in the past 15 years with as many in their first season with a club, joining Dustin Byfuglien (20 in 2010-11 w/ ATL), Brent Burns (18 in 2022-23 w/ CAR), Dougie Hamilton (18 in 2018-19 w/ CAR) and Shea Weber (17 in 2017-17 w/ MTL). He also helped the Capitals establish the sixth game in franchise history in which all six defensemen recorded a point.
* Dahlin scored his 74th and 75th career goals to pass Mike Ramsey (73) for second most by a Sabres defenseman behind Phil Housley (178). He also became the sixth different blueliner in franchise history to score multiple goals in the opening period of a game – Brandon Montour (2-0—2 on Feb. 18, 2020) and Richard Smehlik (2-0—2 on May 3, 1995) are the only others to do so in the past 30 years.
* Buffalo scored five of its eight goals in the opening frame, which marked just the 10th time in franchise history the Sabres have hit the mark in a first period at home.
AMERICAN STARS HELP JETS, MAPLE LEAFS EARN WINS ON HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA
A pair of Canadian clubs skated to dramatic wins during Hockey Night in Canada thanks in part to performances from Kyle Connor and Auston Matthews, who both represented the United States at the 4 Nations Face-Off. The Jets (40-14-3, 83 points) earned their ninth straight win and maintained top spot in the League standings, while the Maple Leafs (34-20-2, 70 points) moved within a point of the Panthers (34-21-3, 71 points) for first place in the Atlantic Division.
* Connor (0-1—1) hit the 70-point mark on Gabriel Vilardi’s equalizer with 28 seconds remaining in regulation – the latest game-tying tally by the Jets since Nov. 13, 2022 (Blake Wheeler: 59:54). Connor became the fifth player in Jets/Thrashers history to post at least four 70-point campaigns, joining Mark Scheifele (5x), Ilya Kovalchuk (5x), Wheeler (4x) and Vyacheslav Kozlov (4x).
* The Hurricanes scored three straight goals in the final frame to threaten their first four-goal, third-period comeback win in franchise history but Matthews quelled the rally with his 389th career tally and moved into a tie with Darryl Sittler for second place on the Maple Leafs’ all-time list behind Mats Sundin (420).
* Matthews, who is on pace to overtake Sundin next season, can become the sixth active player to lead a franchise in goals tied or outright (among clubs established before 2017-18). The others: Aleksander Barkov (FLA), Filip Forsberg (NSH), Steven Stamkos (TBL), Alex Ovechkin (WSH) and Mark Scheifele (WPG).
EASTERN CONFERENCE WILD CARD RACE IS BACK IN FULL SWING
Four of the eight teams within five points of a Wild Card seed in the Eastern Conference picked up at least a point Saturday as the race to the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs continues after the 4 Nations Face-Off break.
* The Red Wings (28-22-6, 62 points), who jumped past the Senators (29-24-4, 62 points) for the first Wild Card spot in the East, collected a point after falling to the Wild in overtime. The contest watched Patrick Kane secure his 18th straight 20-assist season, which passed Brett Hull (17 from 1987-88 – 2003-04) for the longest stretch by an American player. Only three active skaters have as many consecutive campaigns: Sidney Crosby (20), Evgeni Malkin (19) and Anze Kopitar (19).
* Zach Werenski (1-2—3) propelled the Blue Jackets (27-22-8, 62 points) to their fifth straight win against the Blackhawks – their longest active run versus one opponent – and into a tie in terms of standings points with the Red Wings and Senators, who occupy both Wild Card spots. Werenski matched Phil Housley (22 GP in 1991-92) for the third-longest home point streak by a defenseman in NHL history behind Bobby Orr (25 GP in 1974-75) and Paul Coffey (23 GP in 1985-86). He has been held off the score sheet at home only three times this season – tied with Nathan MacKinnon and Nikita Kucherov for the fewest among all players.
* David Pastrnak extended his point streak to 14 games in a contest that saw the Bruins (27-24-7, 61 points) tie the game with 1:11 on the clock to gain a valuable point and remain one point out of a playoff spot. Pastrnak’s streak is the third longest by a Bruins player in the past 30 years, trailing Adam Oates (20 GP in 1996-97) and Phil Kessel (18 GP in 2008-09). In fact, he’s just the seventh different Boston skater to post a run of 14 games since 1984-85.
* Patrik Laine (1-0—1) and Lane Hutson (0-1—1) helped the Canadiens (26-26-5, 57 points) move within five points of a playoff position. Laine scored his 11th power-play goal of the season and became the third Montreal player in the past 10 years to post as many in a campaign, joining Nick Suzuki (12 in 2023-24) and Shea Weber (12 in 2016-17). Meanwhile, Hutson boosted his rookie-leading totals with his 39th assist of the season, which tied Brock Faber (39 in 2023-24) for the third most among active defensemen in their rookie season.
BIEBER, CARELL TO HEADLINE “SKATE FOR LA STRONG” SUNDAY FOLLOWING KINGS WIN
Drew Doughty (1-2—3) factored on three of his club’s five goals to help the Kings earn a point in their fifth straight game at Crypto.com Arena, which will play host to the LA Strong charity game Sunday (6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT).
* Hours before the win, the Kings, in partnership with the NHL, announced the full lineup of players, coaches and musical performers for Skate For LA Strong, “A Celebration to Support the Fire Recovery Efforts in Los Angeles.” The exhibition game will be broadcast live on multiple national and local media platforms including ESPN2, ESPN+, Disney+, Hulu, truTV, Sportsnet, FanDuel Sports Network, KCAL-TV, Pluto TV and Samsung TV Plus.
#NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES FEATURES FLEURY CLIMB NHL ALL-TIME LIST
The latest edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates featured a number of notable performances from across the League, including rookie Matvei Michkov (1-2—3), who factored on three of the Flyers’ six goals against the Oilers, Thomas Harley (1-0—1), who scored in his first game back since winning the 4 Nations Face-Off championship with Canada, and Marc-Andre Fleury, who climbed an NHL all-time list.
* Michkov boosted his 2024-25 totals to 17-22—39 (56 GP) – the most points in a single season by a Flyers rookie since Shayne Gostisbehere in 2015-16 (17-29—46 in 64 GP) – and moved into a tie for first place in the League’s rookie goal-scoring race. Michkov also became the fourth Philadelphia rookie in the past 30 years to record multiple three-point games, joining Matt Read (3 GP in 2011-12), Claude Giroux (2 GP in 2008-09) and Justin Williams (2 GP in 2000-01).
* Harley (1-0—1) and Wyatt Johnston (1-1—2) scored two of Dallas’ four goals to help their club skate to victory. Harley became just the fourth Stars defensemen in the past 20 years to post at least 10 goals in consecutive seasons, while Johnston passed Dino Ciccarelli (31) for the fifth-most multi-point games by a player age 21 or younger in franchise history behind Brian Bellows (71), Mike Modano (48), Tim Young (34) and Bobby Smith (33).
* Fleury appeared in his 1,045th career game and passed Roberto Luongo (1,044 GP) for the second most in NHL history among goaltenders, behind only Martin Brodeur (1,266 GP). He made 27 saves to improve to 12-6-1 this season and backstop the Wild to a third-period, multi-goal comeback win, which came after Minnesota erased a 3-1 deficit in the final seven minutes of regulation.
LOS ANGELES TO HOST 2025 UPPER DECK NHL DRAFT
The NHL announced the 2025 Upper Deck NHL Draft will take place in the city of Los Angeles at L.A. Live’s Peacock Theater from June 27-28, 2025. This will be the second time Los Angeles and the Kings have hosted the event (also 2010).
-22112851.png)
QUICK CLICKS
* #NHLStats Ahead of NHL on TNT’s Hockey Day in America Doubleheader
* Nationwide Arena crowd sings ‘Happy Birthday’ for Johnny Gaudreau’s son on his first birthday
* Brandon Montour, Josh Mahura get warm welcome in return to South Florida
* Penguins, Capitals wear helmet decals in honor of late broadcaster Mike Lange | NHL.com
* 4 Nations Face-Off final gets massive ratings across North America | NHL.com
*Barrett Hayton adds to Hockey Fights Cancer Fund of the V Foundation with Utah’s first hat trick
TEN-GAME SLATE FEATURES STAR-STUDDED HOCKEY DAY IN AMERICA ON NHL ON TNT
A busy 10-game Sunday features NHL on TNT celebrating Hockey Day in America with a star-studded doubleheader as Connor McDavid and the Oilers visit Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals, followed by Sidney Crosby and the Penguins hosting Adam Fox and the Rangers.
* Ovechkin and McDavid clash in their 14th all-time meeting, with the Capitals captain holding the edge in wins (5-7—12 in 13 GP; 7-4-2 record) but the Oilers captain has the edge in points (8-15—23 in 13 GP; 6-6-1 record). Washington enters the contest with a point in each of its past 15 contests at Capital One Arena (10-0-5 dating to Nov. 29, 2024), which is tied for the second-longest home point streak in franchise history (also 14-0-1 in 2009-10) behind a 17-game stretch in 2016-17 (16-0-1).
* Fox and Crosby meet for the first time since they battled in the 4 Nations Face-Off championship, with the latter entering play four assists shy of becoming the fourth defenseman to record 300 with the Rangers. Fox, a native of Jericho, N.Y., is one of four U.S.-born defensemen currently within the top 10 in points among blueliners this season alongside the Zach Werenski, Quinn Hughes and Lane Hutson. The 2024-25 campaign could mark the third time in NHL history where a U.S.-born player led all blueliners for scoring in consecutive seasons (outright or tied). For more statistics and storylines on NHL on TNT’s Hockey Day in America, click here.
SIX days until 2025 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series
The countdown continues to tick away until Columbus and Detroit march into Ohio Stadium for the 2025 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series on March 1 (6 p.m. ET on ESPN, TVAS-D, FX-CA). The number of days remaining until the League’s first outdoor game in the state of Ohio is six, which was the pick used by the Red Wings in the 2019 NHL Draft to select star defenseman Moritz Seider.
